This summer I stayed overnight and trail rode at a ranch that had Rockies and TWHs. One night, they were having a local gaming show in their arena with most of the competitors on gaited horses. It was pretty cool watching them do pole bending, flag races, and the like. 
That’s really been my only experience with them.
A good horse is never a bad color; but a bad horse can be a good color.
Moral of the Story: Never buy a horse based solely upon color.
There are a whole bunch of “mountain horses.” Google it and you’ll get a number of types (Rocky Mountain, KY, etc.). They are mostly descended from TN Walkers if you back far enough. If not directly from Walkers then from the same root stock that produced the Walker.
Any breed can have health issues. Smaller breeds can be more problematical because of limited genetic bases. But then in QHs you’ve got the legacy of Impressive, so size of the genetic base is really not a guarantee of anything.
Gaited horses can have some limits. If the horse is a laterally gaited animal then it will do very well on straight lines but will have touble moving laterally. The gait, however, is generally smooth (unless you have a true pacer). The more diagonal soft gaits are generally less smooth but allow greater lateral movement (and participation in more “athletic” disciplines). If trail riding is the major goal then a lateral gait will not mean much. If you want to do more then maybe you want to look at a more diagonal gait.
Good luck in your search.
G.
I contacted a breeder
Here in Ontario there are several breeders and I contacted one that has a good web site and really seems to stand by the horses she sells. She has a 30 day money back guarantee…I love to see that from a breeder, it speaks volumes about how much they care about where their animals end up. She has quite a few very cute yearlings and 2 yr olds for sale and two older, better broke mares that she says are nicely gaited and good on trails. Both are black. She has offered to take me for a trail ride and I am certainly going to take her up on her offer as soon as we get a bit of a break in this icy weather. I will keep you posted.
Kafue- Good luck. I think the outrageous prices have come down some… I bought a solid bay girl, so if you arent dead set on color (meaning the chocolates and dilutes) you can shop a bit too. I hope you enjoy your ride!
I am and always probably will be an Arabian lover.
If you’re an Arab person, look into Paso Finos. You may find Rockies to be too quiet.
There are trail/pleasure bred Pasos that can move out pretty well. They probably won’t be competitive in endurance, but they can do well in LD/CTRs.
This Paso can give any Rocky a run for their money in the color/hair department. :lol:
Don’t buy the hype
Rocky Mountain Horses are just horses. Some are good, some not so good, just like any other breed. They don’t all have the “calm Rocky nature.” I’ve seen and heard of many Rocky Mountain Horses that were anything but calm and tractable. Again, just horses, regardless of the advertising by the RMH Association and breeders.
Having said that, I have ridden Rockies that were a blast, but then I prefer the four beat rack over other gaited horses’ gaits. And I do love the look of the Rockies, almost like a saddlebred. But, depending on your intended use, there are grade horses and other gaited breeds that do a singlefoot and will cost much less than a Rocky.
One thing about gaited horses, you almost have to ride it to determine if the gait is comfy for you. My husband’s spotted saddle horse does almost a hard pace and he thinks it is comfortable, I don’t. That is why I’ve always hesitated to buy an unbroke gaited horse, you don’t know what you will get in terms of the personal comfort factor.
Also, from what I’ve seen and experienced, the gaited horses do ride faster than the stock breeds, but a strong trotting arab will out-pace and out-last them all and typically can travel faster over rougher terrain.
Good luck in your shopping just be careful to look at the horse as an individual, not the attributes of the breed.
I adore Rockies. I also compete in LD AERC events on my 14hh rocky gelding. He is small but extremely sturdy and has a big heart. He completed back to back days at Yellowhammer this year and has “racked” up 170 competitive miles and is approaching his 1000 mile mark in training rides. He can easily travel around 7mph and there are several rockies competing successfully in endurance. Ru Da Di comes to mind and you can search for him on the AERC site. I love the Rocky Mountain Horse!
One thing about gaited horses, you almost have to ride it to determine if the gait is comfy for you. My husband’s spotted saddle horse does almost a hard pace and he thinks it is comfortable, I don’t. That is why I’ve always hesitated to buy an unbroke gaited horse, you don’t know what you will get in terms of the personal comfort factor.
This is so true! Every horse is different in gait - even comparing riding in a ring to taking them out on the trail. In the ring my gaited guy has certain gaits, but on the trail he gets extra “floaty” and more comfortable. And I can tell a difference if he is having a good day or an attitude day. This is more noticeable in my gaited horse than in my paint mare.
So… I went and tried a RMH. She stood around 15.2hh, black with four white socks. I was not too impressed looking at her as she is very slight through the body which I need as my leg is long. She was bred in Kentucky by a reputable breeder and shipped up to Ontario as a 3 yr old, in foal to a breeder here in Ontario already started under saddle. She is now 5 yrs old and has had more training under saddle but the current owner said she still needs some miles to make her solid. After watching her being ridden I got on her and tried her. I must say that I loved her mind and attitude, she tried so hard to figure out what I wanted and paced for me willingly even though we had to ride in an indoor arena and these horses find it hard to go in circles apparently. I ended up falling in love with her a little but have reservations about her being too small through the body, my lower legs felt like they were dangling below her barrel although my friends said that I did not look to big for her. I am going to go back once the ice is off their trails and try her on the trail before I make up my mind.
My TWH gelding is all of 15 hands and I usually feel like I could lock my ankles under his barrel. But he is such a sweetie, great attitude, good mind–these gaited nags have those qualities for the most part, and that is what has hooked me on them even more than the smooth gaits–both my horses trot as well as doing a “saddle gait” and that’s okay by me. They will take care of their rider and that is priceless.
I have had the opportunity to ride 2 RMH’s and they were both a blast! I don’t know what you’d do other than trail riding, but boy were they fun!
